June 30, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

June 30, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 9:47 AM :: 531 Views

Price Fixing Case Lays Free Eggs for Hawaii AG

I chaired the FEC. Hawaii’s attack on Citizens United is dangerous.

WaPo: … Americans of all persuasions routinely join and support groups — typically organized as corporations — to achieve their various goals, including political ones. However, critics of the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which upheld the rights of corporations to spend money in support of political causes, insist the decision “corrupted” American democracy.

Hawaii has now taken the campaign against Citizens United to its logical endpoint. In May, the state enacted Act 11, a sweeping law designed to strip most incorporated organizations of the ability to engage in election- or ballot-related advocacy. Any corporations that spend money on such efforts could be suspended or dissolved.

This new law is not evenhanded. Act 11 exempts newspapers, broadcasters and periodicals. These institutional media corporations retain full First Amendment rights while most other organizations lose theirs, making the government the arbiter of which corporations deserve a voice.

Hawaii didn’t stumble into Act 11 randomly. The law is an attempt to implement a legal strategy developed by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a progressive think tank in Washington that describes Hawaii’s law as a test case.

CAP believes that even though a state cannot deny a corporation the right to speak, it can deny a corporation the ability to speak by “redefining” the corporate powers granted by state law. The law applies to out-of-state corporations, too. They must also abide by the limits as a condition of doing business in the state. If this semantic trick is upheld, it would make the benefits of a corporate structure conditional on a surrender of First Amendment rights.

Supporters argue that the law is needed to stop corporate influence in politics. But “artificial persons”— as the new law calls corporations and other types of organizations — are not limited to big businesses, out-of-state interests or corporations. Rather, the sweeping provisions of this law even apply to nonprofits, labor unions, trade associations, advocacy groups and civic organizations, regardless of size.

Act 11 denies these groups — and thus their individual citizen members — the right to speak collectively. A union can’t pool member resources to weigh in on a county charter amendment. A nonprofit founded to educate the public about government accountability is barred from engaging in the very civic advocacy that defines its mission. The law could even treat an informal neighborhood environmental meetup as an “unincorporated nonprofit association” and prohibit it from spending money in support of a ballot measure protecting open space ….

Read … Opinion | I chaired the FEC. Hawaii’s attack on Citizens United is dangerous. - The Washington Post

Businesses across Oahu prepare to close as rising costs strain operations

HNN: … La Tour Cafe in Kapolei is set to close on June 30. Just next door, DB Grill is also preparing to shut down on July 12….

Business leaders say many restaurants are struggling under the weight of rising costs, from labor to everyday operating expenses….

Matsuoka said wage increases, while important for workers, also create additional financial pressure for businesses already operating on thin margins.

“With everything going up, our minimum wage went up,” she said. “But when minimum wage goes up, everybody’s pay scale goes up.”

At the same time, consumers are changing how they spend….

Retailers are also feeling the pressure. Nordstrom Rack will close its Waikiki location at 2255 Kuhio Ave. on July 27.

In a statement, Nordstrom said the company made the difficult decision to close the store but plans to continue serving Honolulu customers through nearby locations and online.

The Better Business Bureau says brick-and-mortar retailers have faced mounting pressure as more shoppers move online….

Read … Businesses across Oahu prepare to close as rising costs strain operations | Hawaii News Now

Former city employee pleads not guilty in alleged $800K Hawaii Foodbank fraud

HNN: …He is due back in court in August….

June 22, 2026: AG: Foodbank Defrauded by Program Manager for Honolulu’s Useless 'Office of Economic Revitalization'

CB: Former Honolulu Employee Pleads Not Guilty To Defrauding Hawaiʻi Foodbank - Honolulu Civil Beat

Read … Former city employee pleads not guilty in alleged $800K Hawaii Foodbank fraud | Hawaii News Now

Billion Bonfire: HART board adopts $1.07B budget for Skyline construction

SA: … The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s board of directors Monday formally adopted the rail agency’s $1.07 billion operating and capital improvement program budgets for fiscal year 2027, which takes effect Wednesday.

During a special meeting lasting about 10 minutes, the HART board voted 9-0 to adopt the rail authority’s budget, completing the final step in the approval process after a procedural oversight delayed action on June 19.

The Honolulu City Council adopted HART’s budget — via Bills 26 and 27, respectively — on June 3….

Read … HART board adopts $1.07B budget for Skyline construction | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Bill 46 Stuck on Stupid: To Make Housing Affordable, Raise Taxes on Housing

SA: … The “empty homes tax” proposals now under consideration — Bill 46 before the Honolulu City Council and Resolution P170 before the Honolulu Charter Commission — deserve serious support and consideration. These proposals are founded on a simple principle: housing should first and foremost serve as homes for local residents.

Particularly compelling is the proposal in P170 to dedicate all revenues from the tax to support more affordable housing and homelessness programs. Such a commitment recognizes that the purpose of public policy is not simply to raise money but to advance the common good….

REALITY: You cannot make housing affordable by taxing housing. The 'Vancouver Empty Homes Tax' doesn't work in Vancouver. A marketplace with few vacancies is always a marketplace with high rents.

MORE REALITY: ‘Empty Homes Tax’ Drives Rent up 37%

AND EVEN MORE REALITY: Debunked: Caldwell’s ‘Vancouver Tax’ Does Nothing to Ease Rental Crisis

Read … Column: Tax will keep homes in local hands | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

City funds homeless medical respite centers after state cuts

HNN: … There are currently 22 patients at Leahi. The Aala Respite Center is at capacity with 62 patients.

Both centers were in danger of closing this week after state lawmakers cut $8 million in funding. The City and County of Honolulu responded with approximately $3.5 million to keep the programs running.

“We found enough money for this whole fiscal year,” said Anton Krucky, director of the city’s Office of Housing and Homelessness, “So what I’m going to have to do is some contract extensions, move things around. But we decided that it was a higher priority for those two locations because they were already beds in place.”

Physicians connected to the centers said the facilities reduce emergency room crowding and cut down on EMS calls.

“These are the people that are filling up the emergency rooms in Queen’s hospital right now,” said Dr. Scott Miscovich. “We’re probably approaching $40 million in savings from all the stoppages of the EMS calls and the unnecessary ER visits.” …

Read … City funds homeless medical respite centers after state cuts

Man on state probation for machete assault catches Federal case--indicted for robbing game room

SA: … A 22-year-old felon from Honolulu on probation for a 2023 machete assault (Yup, this is Hawaii Judiciary at work) is scheduled to plead guilty today to robbing an illegal gambling operation at gunpoint on Dec. 27, 2024.

(IDEA: Sentence felons to 100% tattoo removal.)

Chris Hong Pham was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 24 for Hobbs Act robbery and using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. On Dec. 27, 2024, Pham allegedly took money “and other personal property, belonging to the operators and patrons of an illegal gambling establishment,” according to federal court records.

The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce “in any way or degree.” It is a federal statute used to address crimes that disrupt commerce, such as armed robberies in commercial settings and is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison….

Illegal game rooms are frequently targeted by robbers as owners of illegal businesses are less inclined to report the crime. In 2024, Honolulu Police Department officers executed 40 search warrants at illegal game rooms, seized 579 machines, made 10 arrests, recovered more than $200,000 and recovered nine firearms.

Federal agents and police also arrested three men in August 2024 for the Hobbs Act robbery of an illegal gambling operation on Kawaihao Street.

Pham was first charged on March 13, 2025, with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He has been in custody at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu since his arrest in March 2025.

At 19, Pham was one of three men indicted by an Oahu grand jury for a machete attack near Island West Apartments and 7-Eleven on North King Street at about 11 p.m. on March 16, 2023. Pham punched and kicked the victim in that state case….

Read … Man on probation for assault indicted for robbing game room | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Mafia News: 500 at Cockfight

HNN: … An animal rights advocate recorded video showing vehicles lining Hakimo Road in Nānākuli on Saturday afternoon for what he said was a cockfighting event.

The man, who did not want to be identified out of fear of retaliation, said he has been tracking the gatherings. He said there are chicken fights on Hakimo Road every weekend, but the latest one was larger than usual, estimating about 500 attendees.

“Unfortunately, the guys running these cockfighting rings are smart enough to evade any ability to gather evidence on them. Every time you hear them cheering, you know, an animal just died for their enjoyment,” the man said.

The activist has also pushed to raise cockfighting from a misdemeanor to a class C felony. A bill to elevate the punishment in 2024 died at the state Legislature….

Hakimo Road resident Sabrina Grace-Dereis argued cockfighting is part of ~~her heritage and said it is innate for the roosters put into the ring~~ (the mafia) ….

Read … Activists angered over West Oahu chicken fights, residents defend practice | Hawaii News Now

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